WASHINGTON, DC — Discover the latest Earth and space science news at the 51st annual AGU Fall Meeting this December, when more than 20,000 attendees from around the globe are expected to assemble for the largest worldwide conference in the Earth and space sciences.

The Press Rooms are located on Level M3 of the Marriott Marquis Hotel, at 901 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001, across 9th Street NW from the Washington Convention Center. Level M3 is three floors below the lobby.

(1) Online press registration still open

Online press registration for the Fall Meeting will remain open throughout the meeting to expedite the badge pick-up process (see #4 below for details). We encourage all press registrants to register online.

Press registrants receive, at no charge, a badge that provides access to all scientific sessions, the press room and the press conference room. For eligibility requirements, please visit the Press Registration Eligibility Requirements page.

Check the online Who’s Coming list of journalists and press officers who have registered for the meeting. This list is updated regularly.

(2) Press conference schedule

AGU’s Public Information office has planned more than 24 press events, including 16 press conferences, to help reporters cover new developments in the Earth and space sciences. There will be three formats for press events at the Fall Meeting:

Press Conference – A small panel of speakers will share newsworthy findings being presented at the meeting.

Workshop – Experts will provide comprehensive information and answer reporters’ questions about an upcoming project or mission, or an ongoing area of research, rather than present breaking news.

Media Availability – A prominent person(s) in the Earth and space sciences will be available to reporters.

A list of all 2018 Fall Meeting press events is below. Events listed are press conferences unless otherwise specified. Please click on the title of an event for more information, including short descriptions, participants and associated scientific sessions. Please click on the “Press Conferences” tab in the Fall Meeting Media Center for the full schedule of press events.

AGU also plans to send out press releases highlighting new research results presented at the meeting.

NOTE: The following schedule of events is subject to change before or during Fall Meeting. Press events may be added or dropped, their titles and emphases may change and participants may change. Updates, changes and additions to the press events schedule will be posted in the Press Conference tab in the Media Center.

All press events will take place in the Press Conference Room, in the Shaw/LeDroit Park Room on Level M3 of the Marriott Marquis, and last 45 minutes. Times are listed in Eastern Standard Time. All press events will be streamed live over the web. Click on the “Webstreaming” button in the Media Center for further information and see #3 below for details.

In addition to press conferences, AGU is offering other events and activities of interest to the press, including Podcasting 101 with Jackson Watkins and a Film Making Crash Course in the Sharing Science Room (Convention Center room 203 A/B), press field trips, Open Mic Night, Story Collider and more.

See #15 for more information about the press field trips and Sunday workshop. Sign up to perform at Open Mic Night here.

NOTE: Some events and activities, including but not limited to invitation-only events and communications workshops, are not open to press badge holders.

(3) Webstreaming: Stream 2018 Fall Meeting press conferences live

All Fall Meeting press events will be streamed live on the AGU press events webpage. Reporters can visit this site throughout the meeting to watch press events in real time and ask questions via an online chat. For more information and instructions, click on the “Webstreaming” button in the Fall Meeting Media Center.

If, for some reason, the webstreaming does not work for a particular press conference, we will immediately put up a message on the 2018 Fall Meeting Media Center homepage and make the briefing available via teleconference. The teleconference will only be available if the webstreaming service goes down.

(4) Press/News Media badge pickup

To expedite the registration process and avoid long lines on Monday morning, Dec. 10, we encourage all members of the news media to go through the final steps of registering and picking up your badge on Sunday, Dec. 9. You may register online throughout the duration of Fall Meeting and we encourage all press registrants to register online. As always, press/news media registration is complimentary.

Please note: Press registration is NOT located in the main registration area in the convention center. Press registration is located outside the press room on Level M3 of the Marriott Marquis, 901 Massachusetts Avenue NW.

If you did not preregister online: Press registration is located in the Marriott Marquis Hotel Level M3, three floors below the lobby. To register on-site, you must go to the Press Registration Counter, adjacent to the escalators, fill out an onsite registration form, and present your media credentials. For eligibility requirements and required credentials, please visit the Press Registration Eligibility Requirements page. Press Registration counter hours are listed below.

If you preregistered and were mailed your badge: If you have your badge in hand, you can complete the registration process (picking up a badge lanyard and other materials) at the Press Registration Counter located next to the escalators on Level M3 of the Marriott Marquis or at the Press Room, located in the Chinatown Room on Level M3 of the Marriott Marquis. Press Registration counter hours are listed below. The Press Room is open daily at 7:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 10 through Friday, Dec. 14. The room closes daily at 6:30 p.m. except for Friday, Dec. 14, when it closes at 2:00 p.m.

If you preregistered online but didn’t receive your badge in the mail or forgot to bring your mailed badge to the meeting: If you preregistered online and have been approved for press registration, but you don’t have your badge in hand, you should go to the Press Registration Counter in the Marriott Marquis Hotel Level M3, three floors below the lobby. You should bring your approved press registration e-mail. Please see below for Press Registration Counter hours. Approved press registrations can also print out their badge any “print your badge” station.

The Press Rooms are located on Level M3 of the Marriott Marquis Hotel, at 901 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20001. Level M3 is three floors below the lobby.

The Marriott Marquis is across 9th Street NW from the Washington Convention Center. It can be accessed through an underground walkway connecting the concourse level of the convention center and Level M2 of the Marriott Marquis, or through the lobby entrance on Massachusetts Avenue.

The Press Rooms provide working space for press registrants, including phone lines (with no charge for business calls), computer terminals and printers, Wi-Fi and internet hard drops, electrical outlets and space for working and socializing. The main phone number in the Press Room for incoming calls is +1 (202) 824-1901.

Approved press registrants should first check-in and pick up their green press ribbons in the main Press Room, located in the Chinatown Room on Level M3 of the Marriott Marquis. Press registrants can also eat and network in the main press room.

Immediately next door to the Press Room is the Press Work Room 1, located in the Mount Vernon Square Room. The Press Work Room provides quiet space for approved press to work, including computer terminals and printers, internet hard drops, Wi-Fi and electrical outlets. A second Press Work Room is located in the Judiciary Square Room next to the Press Conference Room.

NOTE: We are expecting a record number of press registrants at this year’s Fall Meeting. Please be mindful of the limited space in the press rooms.

Press events (press conferences, workshops and media availabilities) take place in the Press Conference Room, located in the LeDroit Park/Shaw Room, on Level M3 of the Marriott Marquis, past the escalators from the Press Rooms. The phone number in the Press Conference Room for incoming calls is +1 (202) 824-1909.

The Press Room and Press Work Rooms open daily at 7:30 a.m. Monday, Dec. 10 through Friday, Dec. 14. The rooms close daily at 6:30 p.m. except for Friday, Dec. 14, when they close at 2:00 p.m.

Some meals and other refreshments will be provided in the main Press Room (Chinatown). Below is a schedule of meal and snack times throughout the week:

Two Quiet Rooms are available for interviews from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday, Dec. 10 through Thursday, Dec. 13, and from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 14. Fall Meeting press registrants can reserve Quiet Rooms at the front desk of the Press Room (Chinatown) or by calling the Press Room +1 (202) 824-1901 during the meeting. Reservations are given in 30-minute increments for up to one hour at a time, and are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Public information officers can disseminate paper press releases and related documentation at Fall Meeting. We recommend bringing around 50 copies of printed materials and three to five copies of broadcast-quality video.

The easiest way to get these materials to the Press Room is to take them yourself, if you are going to Fall Meeting, or to give them to one of your scientists, with instructions to deliver them to the AGU Press Room (Chinatown) from Monday, Dec. 10 onward.

If you prefer to ship materials to the Fall Meeting, contact news@agu.org for more information.

Materials remaining in the press room may be collected from Room Chinatown by Friday, Dec. 14 at 1:00 p.m., after which they will be thrown away.

(6) New photo Policy

AGU recently updated our Photography and Social Media Guidelines. Beginning with Fall Meeting 2018, photography is permitted throughout AGU meeting spaces — including scientific sessions — unless the presenter has exercised the option to be excluded. Presenters can opt out by displaying a digital “No Photo” image on their poster or slides.

When a photograph of a presenter, of a presenter’s slides, or a presenter’s poster is shared on social media or used for news media use, the presenter must be identified and credited by name.

NOTE: This new policy applies to photography only. Audio and video recording of oral sessions, poster sessions and named lectures, town halls, plenaries and keynotes by members of the media for social media and news media use is strictly forbidden without the express written consent of AGU,

Fall Meeting Keynote Lectures cover different and exciting topics applicable across all fields of Earth and space science. All Keynote Lectures will take place in Ballroom A-C of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, except the Data Plenary, which will take place in room 202A of the convention center. This year’s lectures include:

Apple Vice President of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives Lisa Jackson will deliver the Presidential Forum Lecture on Monday, 10 December from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Amazon Head of Worldwide Sustainability Kara Hurst will deliver the Data Plenary on Monday, 10 December from 6:15 – 7:15 p.m.

Photographer James Balog, founder and director of the Earth Vision Institute and Extreme Ice Survey, will deliver the Frontiers of Geophysics Lecture on 11 Tuesday, December from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Balog will participate in a live recording of AGU’s Third Pod from the Sun podcast immediately following the lecture at 2 p.m. in the Marriott Marquis, Level M1, University of DC/Catholic University room.

AGU’s Diversity & Inclusion Plenary panel will discuss “Sexual Harassment of Women: Climate, Culture and Consequences in Academic Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine,” on Wednesday, 12 December from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. A media availability with the panelists will be held immediately following the plenary at 2 p.m. in the press conference room, Marriott Marquis, Level M3, Shaw/LeDroit Park room.

Director Jim Reilly of the U.S. Geological Survey will deliver the Fall Meeting Agency Lecture on Thursday, 13 December from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

AGU’s Centennial Plenary: A Celebration of the Past and Discussion of the Future of Earth and Space Science will take place on Friday, 14 December from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Exoplanets
It’s an exciting time for exoplanet discovery, with new space and ground-based telescopes expected to begin service in the next few years. Sessions at the Fall Meeting highlight future opportunities and current knowledge about more than 3,000 exoplanets identified in more than 2,000 planetary systems. Click here to see a full list of exoplanet scientific sessions and events.

Safe AGU: ethics, response to harassment, and work-climate related eventsLast year, AGU’s Board of Directors adopted an updated Ethics Policy. This policy takes a much stronger stance against harassment by including it in the definition of research misconduct and expanding its application to AGU members, staff, volunteers, and non-members participating in AGU-sponsored programs and activities, including AGU Honors and Awards, and governance. The purpose of these updates is to address persistent ongoing issues of harassment, discrimination, and bullying within the sciences.

In addition to the Diversity and Inclusion plenary at Wednesday, 12 December, AGU will be hosting a Town Hall session on implementation of key initiatives of the updated ethics policy on Tuesday, 11 December from 6:15 – 7:15 p.m. in the Marriott Marquis hotel, level M4, Independence A-C room.

There are also dozens of events related to ethics, diversity and inclusion taking place at the 2018 Fall Meeting. Click here to see a full list of the Ethics Response to Harassment, and Work-Climate Related Events at the 2018 Fall Meeting.

Union sessions, town halls and tutorial talksAGU Fall Meeting Union sessions focus on multidisciplinary topics with a broad interest to the scientific community. Town Halls offer an opportunity for government agencies, academic programs, special projects, and other focused interest groups to gather input from the broader AGU Community. New Tutorial Talks provide and expert review and synthesis of multiple results from a number of researchers so that the audience can gain a current understanding of the topic.

Browse the scientific program for a list of this year’s Union sessions, Town Halls and Tutorial Talks.

NOTE: Oral Sessions will take place in both the Convention Center (Levels 1-3) and the Marriott Marquis (Levels M1, M2 and M4). Poster Sessions will take place in the poster hall, located in Halls A-C of the Convention Center.

Recommendations from AGU journal editorsAGU’s journal editors give their recommendations for some of the most interesting oral and poster sessions at this year’s meeting in two posts on Eos.org. The first post covers interdisciplinary, science and society, space, planets, and solid Earth. The second post covers oceans and coasts, atmosphere and climate, cryosphere and hydrology, paleoclimatology and biogeosciences.

(8) Late-breaking sessions

Several late-breaking sessions have been added to the Fall Meeting program to cover the latest research on recent events. These sessions include:

(9) Press tour of AGU’s net zero headquarters

AGU will conduct a tour of its newly renovated headquarters for members of the media 8:00 AM – 9:00 a.m. on Thursday, 13 December. AGU CEO/Executive Director Chris McEntee and AGU staff involved in the renovation will lead the tour and answer questions.

Located at 2000 Florida Avenue, NW, in the Dupont Circle neighborhood in Washington, D.C., AGU’s 62,000-square-foot building is the first-ever net zero energy renovation of an existing building in the District of Columbia. Through the use of six innovative technologies working in unison, the net zero building will effectively create the same amount of energy that is consumed onsite. Coinciding with the annual Fall Meeting and the kickoff of AGU’s Centennial celebration, the renovated headquarters embodies AGU’s vision of collaboratively advancing science to help build a more sustainable future for all.

When: Thursday, Dec. 13, 8 – 9 a.m.Where: The tour will start at 8 a.m. at AGU’s headquarters, 2000 Florida Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20009. Transportation back to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center will be provided after the tour ends at 9 a.m.Cost: Free!Eligibility: This tour is open to members of the media, including staff journalists representing media organizations, freelance journalists, photographers, videographers, podcasters, bloggers, authors and filmmakers.
Registration: Members of the media interested in attending the tour should register here.

(10) Journalism Awards Reception

We invite you to join your Press Room colleagues to honor and celebrate AGU’s most recent journalism award winners during an informal reception 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, 11 December in the Press Room, located in the Marriot Marquis Hotel level M3 Chinatown room.

We will recognize the outstanding reporting and writing of 2018 Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism–Features winner Douglas Fox and 2018 David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism–News winner Shannon Hall.

Join the DC Science Writers’ Association on Wednesday, 12 December, for an evening of food, drinks, music and dancing. DCSWA members, AGU attendees, guests, and science enthusiasts are welcome! Your ticket gets you two (2) free drinks, some tasty food, a raffle entry, excellent live entertainment and four hours of serious merriment with your friends and colleagues. Bring nothing but your desire for a good time. Come for the music, stay for the food, drinks, raffle prizes and fun! Find more information on the event page.

(12) Online resources

During Fall Meeting, journalists can find many resources online in the Fall Meeting Media Center. Public information officers (PIOs) can now post press releases and other materials to the site.

For journalists: In the Virtual Press Room, journalists can find press releases, press conference materials (including PowerPoint presentations, images, videos, scientific papers, and more, as available) and other information. Videos of press conferences will be added to the Virtual Press Room during the meeting for easy online access.

For public information officers: PIOs can now share press releases and other materials in the Virtual Press Room by directly uploading them via the Press Item Uploader. PIOs can upload press releases, tip sheets and press conference materials to the Virtual Press Room at any time before or during the meeting. PIOs can also upload materials and schedule them to publish at a later date.

NOTE: PIOs do not need to register to upload press items to the Virtual Press Room. However, only public information and press officers of recognized scientific societies, educational institutions, government agencies and non-profit Earth and space science research organizations are eligible to upload press items. The AGU press office may remove any items posted by press officers who do not meet these criteria.

(13) Expert tools

For journalists: With the Find an Expert tool, reporters can search a list of scientific experts in various topic areas who are at the meeting and available for interviews. These experts have been listed by PIOs from recognized scientific societies, educational institutions, government agencies and non-profit Earth and space science research organizations.

For public information officers: With the Find an Expert tool, PIOs can list up to 10 scientific experts who are at the meeting and available for interviews with reporters. Reporters can then search the list of available experts for scientists who meet their needs. PIOs do not need to register to list an expert; they simply need to fill out the “List an Expert” form at the bottom of the Find an Expert page.

NOTE: PIOs do not need to register to list an expert on the Find an Expert page. However, only public information and press officers of recognized scientific societies, educational institutions, government agencies and non-profit Earth and space science research organizations are eligible to list experts. The AGU press office may remove any experts posted by press officers who do not meet these criteria.

(14) Fall Meeting App, AGU On-Demand and other information

The 2018 AGU Fall Meeting mobile app is now available for download in the Apple App Storeand Google Play. The app allows you to browse the scientific program, plan and sync your schedule between devices, receive event alerts and stay connected on social media. The app also has floor plans of the Washington Convention Center and Marriott Marquis, Grand Hyatt and Renaissance hotels to help you get around.

To get the app, search for “AGU Events” in the Apple App Store or Google Play and download the app called “AGU Events.” When you open the AGU Events app after downloading it, select “2018 AGU Fall Meeting” and download the Fall Meeting-specific app.

AGU GOAGU GO provides online access to live streaming and recorded content from the meeting, including lectures and oral presentations. Click here for a full list of AGU GO sessions. E-posters (electronic versions of Fall Meeting posters) will also be available online. All sessions will be recorded and available for viewing on YouTube after 1 January 2019.

Scientific NeighborhoodsThis year, the poster hall has been organized into scientific neighborhoods. This co-locates posters from related sections and focus groups to make it easier for viewers to identify connections and relevant posters. Visit the Scientific Neighborhoods page for more information.

(15) Press field trips and workshop

AGU is hosting a field trip for members of the media on Sunday, 9 December. NASA will also be holding a press workshop on Sunday, 9 December, and a field trip on Thursday, 13 December. Pre-registration for the workshop and field trips is required.

Note: If you register for a field trip or workshop and are unable to attend, please cancel your registration as soon as possible so your spot can be made available to another person.

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The American Geophysical Unionis dedicated to advancing the Earth and space sciences for the benefit of humanity through its scholarly publications, conferences, and outreach programs. AGU is a not-for-profit, professional, scientific organization representing more than 60,000 members in 139 countries. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and our other social media channels.